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Sunday, July 28, 2013

..a little more progress! I like when the boys come home and tell me what new things they've seen at the house site. Today..we finally got our stairs! The kids were all excited since it would be the first day to actually see their rooms. They recognized them right away after studying the plans for so long! : )

ok..hate to start out negative. But, Ethan's bathroom window up top is not the right one. It's supposed to be rounded to match the front doors. We'll work on that.

But at least they got the rounded roof part above it right!

The front side porch : ) ..we changed the double doors from the dining room into a window so we could place some furniture out there!

The arch for the front porch is currently in the dining room floor..it'll be there soon enough.

Looking into the living room..out into the back yard!

STAiRS are IN!!

Mary Claire's room! She looks out over the garage roof..and the back porch & yard.

Lots of porch roof. You never realize how it will really look until it gets built. I never took this into consideration!

At this point, we still have x-ray vision! Through the landing, through Mary Claire's closet, into her bathroom.

Still really thankful for our stairs! So much easier than shimmy-ing up those boards. ; )

Can't wait to see the finish out on this one! Looking into the kitchen : ) And they finally got my pantry wall right!! Kudos!

Pantry and breakfast area. ..that's making me hungry. ; )

Well, that's it! I'm so glad to see it coming along. We meet on Monday to do the electrical walk-through. To mark where the kids will hang out with their iPods, where we'll locate a tv..or even plug a vacuum. Fun! Clay asked for two outlets in his closet. So he can play games in the dark. I think this is so he can play after bedtime. Umm..we're onto you, Dude!

We also met on Thursday to do more tile-deciding. But get this. I'm supposed to pick floor tile, back splash tile, and the tile for my tub surround BEFORE I know my countertop. They want me to pick granite..but I can't see the selections till I'm 30 days out, but I have to pick the other NOW and have them laid on my concrete before then! Umm..not working for me! I wanted whites and grays, but now that they are "in style/demand"..they cost more. Wahhhh. Tans, beiges, browns, etc. are now cheap. Boo. Even tan granite is cheaper than blah Corian. I'm needing a direction (that's not too expensive!). I'm ready to go back to that white cultured marble, but they would freak out. I just love that clean, white look! *gasp!* but they tell me it's not what's "expected" in a house like ours..and I need to do 3cm granite. What to do?!

Also..trying to commit to room colors. I've had to look for kids' bedding, and quiz them on color preference. I think I'll do a stripe on Carter's back wall like this:

ok..so I love this room. But I'm thinking the stripes would be good in his room ; )

..and then solids for the big kids. I'm just mixing it up since I may paint his room our neutral (Sherwin Williams Anew Gray) (my color of the moment).

Also, here are some tile choices I DiD make:

The top is the travertine "rock" I chose for my pool bath floor. Cool, huh?

And this is what we switched Mary Claire's backsplash tile to..the one underneath it is her current floor tile. Now if I can only find some granite to match so I won't ruin it all.

We also decided to make the bottom four feet of the pool bath James Hardie (Hardieplank) siding instead of subway tile..since I was using that tile in the kitchen! I think it'll look cool and outdoor-like. It was a chance to do something super different. I will visit it in the winter, close the blinds, and pretend it's summer. ; ) I hope it all comes together..and doesn't seem too crazy! If it does..just don't tell me. haha!Oh, and also? We are thinking about painting the dining room navy blue. Yes, we are nuts like that. I actually have a navy fabric I love (no place to put it), and so I thought I could put it in the room that has two double windows, an entryway opening, and a big hutch..that will reflect light! I know..big chance to take. But just maybe it'll be okay. Heck, we hardly use that room anyway! haha!

Hope you are having an awesome weekend! I'm trying to relax..and gear up for Monday. More charts and thinking..and pinning. ; ) any advice?

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Progress! Finally we've seen the upstairs go up, and now the ROOF! : )

Second floor on..but I haven't been able to go up there since the STAiRS aren't built! (That's our neighbor, Mary, in the entrance..she was checking it out for us!)

Windows delivered! Woohoo, no dividers!

Doors delivered! Love to see the outdoors.

Roof going over Carter's room!

Roof over the garage..since the floor was dropped based on the amount of slope on the land, but the roofline continues..the garage is super tall!

And..this is how it is looking so far : ) Roof over garage, kitchen, pantry, and porch. Hooray!

Today, Mom and I went out for a bit. We had a nice lunch, and we tried to scope out some stores for good home stuff. First we tried Red Hill, a new (to me) store that was just what I needed! Wonderful, casual, furniture, gifts, milk paint-y, filled with beautiful cow and pig art (and many, many more amazing acrylic originals!) by owner, Cari. She was SO sweet..it took so long for her to actually tell me all those bits of awesomeness were...hers! As in, she painted them! I was too in love to think of taking a picture..sorry. But I did pick up this beauty:

No..not the cutie, the CHaiR! : ) I loved it right away, and thank goodness he does too!

So much..that he felt at home in it right away. Oops.

Much Better. (we use a belt as a seat belt now. Just like when the big kids were learning to use a real chair.)

Ok, he looked so much like Wilbur (non-teachers: Charlotte's Web!) to me, and I had to take him home! The painting's real name is Morning Pig though. (I told her it was Wilbur to me though, and she was ok with it.)

I'm still excited about choosing for the house, but still really nervous. I planned for kitchen cabinets last night since we meet the cabinet man on Monday. I have to know what to say! I'm planning to take him a bunch of pictures of what I want. Pictures are worth a thousand words you know. ; ) Here's what I'll say:

Cabinet doors like this, with a *light* gray-taupe glaze.

Arch over the stove top like this. Only a mantle-like shelf for art or dishes.

Kinda like this mantle over the stove.

But with panels and corbels glazed like these.

And double glass like this? Tall cabinets, but not just one door. Maybe a tall, and a short up top.

And a wood finish on the locker seat, like this one.

And a full-size drawer with two trash cans, like this one. (no drawer above) But with rails so you are not just pulling on the drawer front.

And may I please have a pan rack/sorter above my oven? And maybe two drawers under my stove top instead of cabinets for pots and pans? Ok, maybe that is all. ; )

Maybe I've been avoiding..I'm supposed to decide on paint colors and tile and lights and flooring and cabinet knobs and door knobs..and I'm nervous. We'll see how far I get!

Keep praying for Alyssa, she's doing better! Trying to keep fluid off her lungs..so she needs to get up lots to try to walk (to maker her breath harder!). Bless her heart..and she had to test her blood today. Might be the first of many for a while, till they know if her transplant took! Pray for her to be healed..she doesn't want diabetes! : )

Monday, July 22, 2013

Swimming in awesome friends! The kids had a swim party given by their orthodontist, and it was so much fun! Here are some of the pictures..Ethan even went off the HiGH dive!!

Love, love, love that they all have diabetes. And check their blood together!!

Ok, so no blood sugar checks..but they definitely have something in common!

My *baby* in midair off the high dive! (I think I was like 12 before I went off it!)

Sweet, sweet girls hanging with the little dude. He couldn't get enough of that slide!

So thankful they could join us..it was awesome. Really.

On another friend note. Mary Claire's close friend, Alyssa, had surgery on Friday. It was a huge, long surgery removing her pancreas, spleen, appendix, gall bladder and duodenum. See? Huge. You can visit her caringbridge page by clicking on her name, and leave her a message! : ) She loves reading the notes left. Even by people she doesn't know! : ) Bless her heart, it was a big deal. She's up and moving by little bits today (a few steps at a time), and has had a few of her wires removed. Baby steps.

The other thing? She had 228,152 islets transplanted from her pancreas (which was causing her trouble..chronic pancreatitis) to her LiVER!! Yes, you heard read that right. Can you imagine? Your own cells, transplanted. No immune suppression drugs after. I'm also personally praying that they take, and she doesn't end up with diabetes. They are prepared..but it's no picnic. I'd welcome her to our side of the park, but she doesn't really want to play over here. Heck, I don't even want to play over here. (I'd just miss the friends on this side ; ) But they'd have each other.

She won't be back in town for school to start, and we'll miss her. Mary Claire is really counting on being in the same pod as her for the big jump to middle school...in a month!

We prayed before lunch. Yes, she heard me. Obviously. But we did pray!! She loves that girl.

Please pray for her complete healing, and for the transplant to be successful. Prayers for your family as you head into a new week! Hugs, y'all!

Friday, July 19, 2013

Ok, I feel 18% better. I revisited the design center with no expectations to choose anything..just to look and learn. I think I got a better idea of the direction I might go. I'm trying to marry french (think linen/ivory/white) with clean white (white, marble, chrome). Here is a super long post, picture-filled, with what I'm thinking. ; ) 'Cause you have an hour to stress with me over the right lights! Not. ; )

Let's start here..I like this for the entryway. Shiny chrome : )

Something similar to this would go over the breakfast table..but with a round drum shade, and with a silver knob on the bottom, and maybe a white cord? You can totally customize all these little things! : ) Love that.

Ok..these are all ideas for the pendants over the island/bar:

This is actually smaller in person..it's only about 8" across maybe? But I could do three or four?

I like the one on the right I think. I'd do two, and paint them a very pale aqua (pale turquoise)..and I'd have to paint the chain and rewire with a white wire..or paint it too!

Love this too..incredibly industrial with the thick chain!

More delicate, but I like the white..so light would come out the sides too, not just the bottom.

Not my favorite, but I'd love to use it somewhere..it's rope covered chain! and wood/glass. cool.

This maybe in my bedroom since I need a fan?

I like the brownish outside lanterns..for beside the garage doors, back patio, etc.

Cool for the front porch!

Maybe the hallways?

LOVE!!! Now..where to put it? It has four 60watt bulbs, so it has enough light. Maybe laundry or office..or suggestions please?

Beautiful glass tile. Maybe the middle one? But where to put it?

This crema marfel (marble) that I like. Mostly whitish, but some linen color. It would be a herringbone pattern behind the stovetop, but...

subway pattern in the rest of the kitchen.

Mary Claire chose this glass backsplash tile and floor tile for her bathroom!

I love this. But price? I don't know. Where to put it? I don't know.

I learned a lot. That if you repeat some of the same tile in your house, you can buy larger quantities therefore wasting less. Also, you can use the same grout, also eliminating waste. But I like choice, and I'm finding it hard to narrow down. ; )

About Me

Definitely blessed by God, even when life gets tough. My husband and I have four sweet kids (17, 16, 11, and my baby just turned six!). My daughter, Mary Claire, has Type I Diabetes and wears a 670G Medtronic insulin pump. We always thought of Diabetes as another child. It takes on a life of its own and requires so much planning and care-sometimes I think it’ll never grow up.
And now our son, Clay, has also been diagnosed 10/16/13. He’s also on a 670G Medtronic pump!
We also have five sweet angels in Heaven, and I can’t wait to meet them. They are playing at the feet of Jesus, and I pray we'll all be there with them one day.
I think I’m only strengthened by all the discomfort. I am making it through things I would’ve sworn would kill me. But they didn’t. I am courageous, and I’m on the other side. Still blessed.

Missing Blogroll...

So..I thought I'd be all "I can DO this" and redesign my blog..except I lost all my gadgets somehow. Hopefully I can get my blog list back up quickly. (I mean quick for a mom of four in a crampy box-filled house who watched a snake get captured by animal control. In the backyard.) But I actually USE the list..and I miss my friends! ; )Let me know if you'd like to be posted, I don't want to forget anyone!!